everybody. justice scalia asked when defining marriage between a man and a woman became unconstitutional. a clearly emotional and divisive issue among justices and the public rallying outside the supreme court. now, before justices can even decide whether or not proposition 8, that ban on gay marriage, is unconstitutional, they first have to decide whether supporters of proposition 8 even have the standing to do so. this is expected to be a divisive issue among the judges with justice kennedy likely to be a swing vote in any decision. we are expecting a decision by june. reporting live from the supreme court in washington, d.c., i'm danielle lee. marla and laura, back to you. >> thank you, danielle. meantime san francisco city attorney was there while the arguments were made this morning. dennis herrera tweeted this before going into the supreme court. he's no stranger to the same-sex marriage debate. herrera is credited with filing the first lawsuit challenging

the constitutionality of laws that discriminate between gay and lesbian couples. >> more hopeful than ever after putting discrimination on trial all these years we'll get a positive ruling out of the supreme court. i thought it was incredibly forceful and compelling in the case made before the justices. >> herrera wasn't the only california politician in the courtroom. governor newsom and state senator mark leno were also there. even though it is 3,000 miles away, the bay area is intently watching what's going on at the supreme court. some local cities are even showing their support for marriage equality in a very unique way. nbc bay area's kristi smith is live in berkeley with why the justices decision means so much. good morning, christy. >> good morning. we just left berkeley and came to oakland. what a day. cities are coming out strong in

support of same-sex marriage. oakland is next. that's why we came here. in about 45 minutes, they are going to raise a rainbow flag at city hall to fly on the days when the court reviews prop 8 and defense of marriage act. one east bay councilmember thinks it will send a strong message. >> the rainbow flag went up the pole near city hall in berkeley this morning proudly. >> we have five cities all unified in sending a message of support and encouragement to the lgbt community and to state people who believe in equality as well. >> reporter: as the u.s. supreme court considers california's ban on same-sex marriage, prop 8. councilmember chris worthington recalls berkeley's long-standing support for marriage equality. >> during '96 and '97, the city of berkeley had some of the same kind of discussion that's going on all over the country in the last couple of years. so i guess berkeley was about 16 or 17 years ahead of our time.

>> it's an historic day. i've been working towards lgbt rights onfor a long time. >> judy is on the school board. she said she's had three ceremonies now with her same partner and explained this day to her kids. >> i told him, i said, this is an historic day, a big one. he said, you said that last time. i hope we never have to say this again. i hope this is the time we win full equality. >> reporter: in the bay area she's got a lot of company. hundreds rallied in san francisco. opponents of same-sex marriage are also prepared to come out strong. >> marriage laws are designed to attach mothers and fathers to each other and to the children they may create and raise in the best environment. >> reporter: back here live prop 8 sponsors released a statement saying in part we have every confidence the nine justices will resist pressure to end the debate about the definition of marriage. by the way, councilmember

worthington from berkeley said he is also very proud that the two women at the center of this fight are from berkeley. reporting live in oakland, kristi smith, nbc bay area news. new this morning, a fire breaks out at a salon in alameda. check out the flames pouring from the roof of this hair salon. >> i'll take this over. this is the alameda fire, the roof of the hair salon on park street near san jose avenue. the building houses a number of businesses on the ground floor and apartments above. firefighters have pulled out of the building fearing it could collapse. no injuries have been reported. and in san jose, more than 20 people have been displaced after a fire at an apartment building overnight on landes avenue near 680 and montague. firefighters say they got a report of smoke in a kitchen area. the building was evacuated and the scene was cleared around 1:00 a.m. monterey highway has reopened in south san jose after a fatal car accident early this

morning. police say about 2:00 a.m., the driver of a red two-door ford, can you see it completely crushed, was speeding south on monterey when he lost control, clipped two trees and sheared a light pole. paramedics pronounced him dead on the scene. a sergeant we spoke with said there are no obvious signs of drinking and driving but cannot rule it out completely until rultsz come back from a test. portions were shut down for a good portion of the morning commute. >> goodness gracious, thank you so much. breaking news we told you about yesterday morning. you know what, you're going to have to read this too. i'm sorry. >> lets get you water. just this morning police in san jose have released a sketch of the woman who kidnapped a baby. investigators say a woman looking like this stole a jeep yesterday with gabriella quintero inside triggering a statewide amber alert. five hours later police found the girl in the abandoned jeep

six miles from home. the baby girl is safe this morning. gabriella quintero went home with her mother late last night. you can see that here. after an exhausting day. the mother told police she left gabriella in her car seat to grab something from the home. when she returned seconds later, the jeep was gone. >> i want to say thank you for everybody. thank you for everything that people pray for my baby, the police department, everything. my baby is okay, thanks to that. >> witnesses say the suspicious woman was seen walking in the neighborhood seen talking on her cell phone. she was reportedly wearing a red and white target bag. the fbi is asking for your help to track down a serial bank robber who hit banks in pleasanton and walnut creek. take a look at these photos. this man earned the nickname buttoned down bandit because of his business casual attire. he's believed to be responsible for two bank robberies this past

month. investigators say he's between 30 and 35-year-old, 6 feet tall, medium build. he wears a button down shirt, gray slacks and black dress shoes. a san francisco nightclub where three people were shot over the weekend is closing for good. owners of the nightclub agreed to surrender their entertainment permit meaning the south of market club closes forever. three men were hurt early saturday morning after an argument inside the club prompted those shootings. >> i don't even know why i came today. you can do the rest of the show. >> you poor thing. >> i've never been so choked up live on the air. >> pollen levels are high. could play a role. >> look at her. >> awe make. >> you take it away. >> it's true. the rain showers we have headed our way, they are actually going to help wash some of that pollen away. you are not the only one, laura, dealing with a throat. good morning to you. 11:10 now. yes, handled like a pro.

i could not have done that. taking a live look at san francisco. mostly cloudy conditions for today, we're going to stay mostly dry. that rain i promised you that will wash the pollen away, it's going to hold off a little longer but it's on the way. wait until i show you rain chances. they get better and better every time i check. 62 in sunny vail. not a bad day shaping up, 56 and 60 in gilroy. getting through the next couple days looking good. we're going to stay mostly dry. as we head through the morning, light isolated showers in the north bay. going to be hard to tell where the showers are, drizzle we're expecting, thick, low clouds expecting on-shore flow. our best chance for rain will be thursday and sunday. i'm going to time out everything in between. really depends on where you live. that's going to dictate how much we're expecting in the neighborhood. that's worth sticking around for, i'd say. >> thank you very much. >> you have no choice. you're anchored. >> that's what they call us.

still ahead, freedom once again granted could be taken away. what amanda says about the decision that could put her back behind bars on murder charges. the woman accused of putting sleep medicine into sippy cups at a daycare center makes her first court appear an. this time parents were watching. i'm arturo santiago, details coming up. coming up, we'll hear from the teenager who sold his business to yahoo! for tens of millions of dollars. the mor

teacher charged with spiking children's drinks with sleeping pills and in court today. it turned out to be an emotional hearing. nbc bay area's arturo santiago at the courthouse in morgan hill with the latest for us. arturo. >> reporter: marla, this was her first appearance at the courthouse. it was over in just minutes. i can tell you there was a lot

of emotion in the room as it happened. 59-year-old deborah gratz stood before a judge for her ram arraignment. gratz and her attorney plan to enter a plea of not guilty. as she sat down parents who used the daycare where gratz worked got up and left the courtroom. gratz had no comment as she left the courthouse. deborah gratz is accused of putting the sleep medication sominex into the sippy cups of children into her care at the kiddie academy on march 8th. cups were taken away before they were used by the children and gratz was immediately fired. nearly a dozen parents who used the academy were at the hearing. two parents we talked to say they had suspicions even before gratz was allegedly caught in the act. >> looking back and saying juice, juice, juice. we never gave her juice. we asked about that. no, just giving her water. thinking back on it, you know, she put something in the water so that's probably what it was. >> every night, throwing up.

grandma, i throw up. what year and a half-year-old that you know does that. wake up, i throw up. no. but she hasn't been sick since then. so had she been giving her this medication? >> i believe she abused these families' trust in a really terrible way. she gave these very young children sleeping pills. deborah gratz is charged with five misdemeanor accounts of attempted child endangerment and five counts of misdemeanor assault. if shee convicted on all counts, she could be facing some jail time. her next court date is scheduled for april 25th. what remains to be a very emotional issue for the parents, especially ones that showed up in court today, is the fact this allegedly happened on a friday morning. police were not called until the following monday and parents weren't told about it until tuesday. live in morgan hill, i'm arturo

santiago, nbc, bay area news. an italian court ruled this morning amanda knox will stand trial again for the murder of her former british roommate in italy. knox and her former boyfriend were acquitted of the murder after previously convicted of the death of knox's roommate in 2007. knox, who is now 25, living in seattle. while a new trial has been ordered, italian law cannot force knox to return to the country. in a statement knox said it is painful to have the aquimgs overturned but she is confident in the truth. more good news this morning about the housing market. prices for homes in san francisco have jumped 17% over the last year. scott mcgrew takes a closer look at all the numbers. >> yes, good morning. those figures coming from case-shiller, a respected analyst of housing prices. do keep in mind the study considers the san francisco market to be san francisco. naturally enough. but also the east bay, including oakland. but not the south bay and san

jose. now, these latest numbers say prices rose just .1% over the last month, late winter, early spring, not a big time for home sales. as you point out, more than 17% over the past year. now, one fellow who could afford any home in san francisco is this guy, nick de lossio. we first told you about him yesterday as he sold his startup to yahoo! for a rumored $30 million. he's 17 and quite modest. take a listen. >> put in a trust fund and be invested. be on that side of things, the thing that's really excited me about the deal is going to work for yahoo! and melissa meyer and the team over there, really exciting. >> wise beyond his ears. just a short time ago the dragon capsule splashed down in the pacific, perfectly safe, after a trip down from the space station. an unmanned capsule. another success for spacex. back to you. scott, thanks so much.

get that umbrella handy by your side. meteorologist christina loren says the rain will arrive. >> you can use it for a walking stick today. probably not going to use it too much until thursday. we do have that chance of rain. i'd rather let you know about it so you can be prepared than catch you off-guard. good morning. taking a live look san jose. mostly cloudy conditions over the greater bay area. that will be the case for today, sun and clouds. temperatures warming up nicely, 63, 55 in san francisco and oakland. there's the weathermaker, still a good deal offshore, maybe 100 miles at this point. going to take its time to get towards the coastline of california. as it barrels towards us, we're not expecting activity until potentially tomorrow morning. 67 today, livermore comfortable conditions, very similar to yesterday, 69 in gilroy, 65 right here at san jose. the first wetmaker starts to approach, brings shower activity by 5:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. we're not expecting a lot in terms of rainfall.

you see thick cloud cover capable of roug drizzle for morning drive. 5:00 p.m. wednesday starting a little more activity over the higher elevations. main event organized showers don't arrive until thursday morning. they will last pretty much all day thursday then a little break overnight thursday. friday looks good for outdoor plans. or you can stay indoors. a's and giants right here on nbc bay area. that's right, bay bridge captured live right here. saturday and sunday we get another chance for rain. sunday is going to be the most active. of course that's easter. good news, everything looks to clear before noon on sunday. for now we'll keep you posted. i know that's a big one. >> it is. >> the easter bunnies don't get wet. >> coming up at 11:00, why your b.a.r.t. commute could take longer starting tonight. plus what russia is doing to make sure 2014 olympics actually looks like winter. we'll explain coming up.

san jose will decide whether to give a silicon valley tech giant millions in tax incentives to keep it in town. city council considering a multi-million dollar incentive plan for samsung. it will reduce the company's impact fee, utility taxes and reimburse capital expenses in order to keep the semiconductor company prosecute moving to texas. in return samsung would triple square footage and increase the workforce by a third. the mayor says the tax breaks will eventually mean more tax dollars. >> we will get about $25 million in additional revenues in the city of san jose in a variety of taxes. it will give up about $7 million of that over 10 years to help keep samsung here. >> the city council will vote

today during its regularly scheduled meeting. b.a.r.t. riders can expect a longer late night commute starting tonight. b.a.r.t. is making changes to its schedule on tuesdays, wednesdays, and thursdays after 10:00 p.m. to accommodate construction for earthquake safety upgrades. b.a.r.t. will be single tracking train through certain tunnels where construction will be taking place causing delays of up to 20 minutes. the work is supposed to go on for 14 months. b.a.r.t. says the partial closures will give them extra time to complete the upgrades in addition to overnight hours when the tunnels are completely closed. speaking of tunnels, marla, devils slide tunnels now open. chp opened up the roadway to drivers this morning. motorcade of classic cars helped celebrate the opening during a ceremony yesterday. look at that one. crews did work last night and cleared out around 2:00 a.m. the tunnels remrs. a treacherous stretch of highway 1 good pacifica and half moon bay. in the past heavy rains washed out the roadway numerous times.

>> now a follow-up to a story we first told you about last week. san francisco police say a missing service dog taken from his sleeping owner on a b.a.r.t. train is back at home safe and sound. archie was found yesterday five days after he went missing. police say an anonymous tip led them to a home in san francisco where they found this small palm iranian, checked his micro chip and confirmed it is, in fact, archie. police interviewed people in the home. charges are pending. when we return, why the city says it guarantees snow for the 2014 olympics. what they are doing as a back-up plan in case mother nature does not cooperate.

the winter games are just 318 days away. russia is not taking any chances with the weather. according to the "new york times" the host of the 2014 games is actually stockpiling

snow. >> they have got to do what they have got to do. remember in 2010 the mild temperatures in vancouver left the host city scrambling for smo. now they are trying to be better prepared. 400 snow making cannons are already shooting snow. the city wants to stockpile 500,000 cubic meters and protect it from the summer heat. the hope is that half the snow will be there members week and can be useden case russia has an unseasonably warm winter. whatever they can do, they want to be ready. >> thanks so much for being with us. join us at 5:00, 6:00, and 11:00 and all day long on nbcbayarea.com and in the morning as well.

- i'd like to welcome everyone to this nbc employee, town-hall meeting, and thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules. - yeah, i'm supposed to be drinking a soda, right now.

- a special thanks to those joining us via simulcast, particularly you gentlemen in the tokyo office. i know it's late there. i don't know why you're wearing girls' pajamas, but i'm sure it's cultural. i'm here to address concerns regarding the acquisition of our company by kabletown, with a "k." this is an exciting time for nbc. not "seinfeld," "friends," "e.r." exciting. more like 3-d episodes of "merlin" exciting, but i believe this is a great opportunity for all of us, because kabletown is a great company. even if it is from... philadelphia. - go eagles! - how did you even get a snowball? - philly rules! cheesesteaks, bobby clarke, will smith! your town sucks! - you do not want this argument, lemon. boston is the greatest city in the world. - boo. - boston tea party. boston cream pie, boston rob mariano. birthplace of benjamin franklin. - yeah, then he looked around, realized it sucked, and moved to philadelphia! oh, did you just whip a battery at me? - mr. donaghy, i'm sorry-- can we get back to the meeting?

- of course-- my apologies to our friends [laughing] from the great city of los angeles. [collective laughter] - hey, stop laughing-- l.a. rules. michael bay, freeways, legoland. - before i take your questions, i'd like to say few words about don geiss. the world has lost a giant. he built g.e. into the greatest company on earth, and the earth into one of the top three planets in the universe. for those of you wishing to pay your respects, there will be an episcopal cryogenic freezing service open to all six sigma black belts and higher. - that's the craziest thing i ever heard-- episcopal! - now the floor is open to questions. - i would be remiss, if i didn't honor our fallen leader with a song. this is for you, dan goose. aha... mazii-iing.... gra... eh... ah... ace ["30 rock" theme playing]